Reno's Request
by QueenOfTheYaoi
Summary: "You were really the only person I could ask.  Take my word for it this time."  Reno needs a favor.  Cloud, needless to say, is reluctant to trust the Turk.  renoXcloud friendship.


Cloud sighed as he raised a reluctant fist to knock on the door in front of him. He wasn't supposed to be there. It was past curfew. But he'd promised to help Reno with whatever task he'd needed help with.

_Cloud sighed as he walked quickly to the gym. He wasn't late. And even if he was, he bet Sergeant Shaw would give him a break, seeing who his mentor was. He could always blame it on Zack, who would just smile and make up an excuse for him. Yeah, he knew it was wrong, but he couldn't afford to be late very often. And Zack was always willing to help when it came to matters of training. He was only a few yards from the door when a hand was rested on his shoulder._

"_Hey there, kid." Cloud didn't have to look to know who had spoken, but looked up anyway to glare._

"_Not a kid." Reno laughed._

"_Relax, yo. It's just a name."_

"_But not MY name. Now do you need something, Mr. Sinclair? I don't want to be late for training." The redhead put on an exaggerated face of hurt._

"_What, you not happy to see me?"_

"_I'm happy to see you, Mr. Sinclair, but I just don't feel like being assigned conditioning." He sighed and patted the blonde's shoulder._

"_I can vouch for you if Shaw gives you crap about being late. And do you really have to call me Mr. Sinclair? We're buddies, yo. Besides, it makes me feel old." Cloud smiled at Reno smugly._

"_But you ARE old, Reno."_

"_I don't know if I should be happy you called me Reno or pissed that you called me old." The blonde shrugged, smug smirk still gracing his lips._

"_A little of both. Now do you need something? If not, I should really get going."_

"_I do need something, actually. Mind coming to my apartment, yo? Preferably after you eat dinner." The shorter boy raised an eyebrow._

"_But the cadets leave the mess hall at 8:00. Why would you need me that late?"_

"_Just need your help, yo. And it'd be better for you if you did it after you've eaten. Why, don't trust me?" Cloud raised an eyebrow accusingly._

"_Nope, not a bit." Reno laughed again._

"_And you have no reason to. But just come, okay? You were really the only one I could ask. Take my word for it this time." Before Cloud could argue, Reno thanked him and ran off, waving goodbye as he disappeared behind a corner. Cloud shuddered and a bead of sweat ran down the back of his head. He sprinted to the training area, smacking into Sergeant Shaw's chest as soon as he turned through the doorway._

"_You're late, Cadet Strife." Cloud sighed and mentally cursed Reno for distracting him._

"_Yeah, I thought so…"_

Cloud chuckled. Reno had been very vague. For all the blonde knew, he could be walking to his death. Or…The death of his innocence at least. He took another deep breath to calm himself and knocked on the door. While he waited, he couldn't help but wonder what Reno's apartment looked like. Turks and SOLDIERs didn't strike Cloud as being that different, so maybe it'd look like Zack's? But Reno was pretty close to Tseng, so…maybe more like Sephiroth's? Regardless, considering the redhead's personality, he expected it to be messy. The door in front of him opened and Reno leaned against the doorframe, smirking down at his young visitor.

"Hey, kid."

"Again I say, not a kid." Cloud let out a noise that sounded threatening and oddly like a growl, making Reno laugh.

"You're sixteen, yo. That makes you a kid in my eyes."

"Well then put your goggles on and look at me again." Reno laughed again and did what he was told.

"Nope, still look kid-like." Cloud sighed.

"So what do you need me for?" Reno dawned an expression that made Cloud think the redhead had forgotten about his "visit". He put the goggles back on his head.

"Oh yeah. Come in." The redhead walked inside the apartment, leaving the door open for Cloud to follow. The blonde closed the door behind him and felt his eyes go wide.

Reno's apartment was huge. Totally spotless. And…was that a hot tub? Cloud gawked at the combination of white walls and fiery red carpet that matched the man's hair, which made the apartment look classy. The sofas were a darker shade of red than the carpet. There was an arch doorway, through which was a kitchen with chrome fixtures and appliances. There were also three doors on one of the walls. Cloud assumed one led to a bedroom while the other led to a bedroom, but didn't know about the third. Through a glass sliding door was a large patio with a table and some chairs around it. Reno snapped his fingers, drawing the blonde's attention away from the sights.

"My place not what you expected, was it?"

"Not at all. It's…classy and elegant looking and it's totally clean." Reno raised an eyebrow at the last part.

"You didn't expect my apartment to be clean? Damn, you got a bad impression of me, yo." Cloud nodded again. If he'd been wrong about the state of the man's apartment, who knows what other assumptions were totally wrong? He made a mental note to find out later. Reno motioned for Cloud to sit on the couch. He did, and the redhead retreated into the kitchen.

"You ate already like I asked you to, right?" Reno called from the kitchen. Cloud could vaguely hear the clacking of items-on-marble.

"Yeah, I already ate, but I don't see why that's important." Reno shrugged.

"It wasn't that big of a deal. Didn't want to spoil your appetite, ya know? Figured _dinner_ first, _then_ dessert." The shorter gulped audibly.

"D-dessert?"

"Yeah, _dessert. _Like something _sweet_ and _yummy_." Cloud shivered. Reno was sounding very…suggestive right now. He poked his head through the arch. "Close your eyes, yo."

"Um, w-why?"

"Just do it, you'll see soon enough." Never being one to disobey orders, even though technically speaking Reno wasn't his superior, he reluctantly shut his eyes. He heard something being put onto the coffee table in front of him and felt Reno sit next to him. "Open your mouth."

"What? Why?"

"Don't question, just do it. And relax already, yo. I ain't a rapist."

"And I'm supposed to know that how?"

"…Good point." Cloud opened his mouth to protest once more, but was interrupted by something being stuffed into his mouth.

A spoon, to be specific.

His eyes opened at this moment and met a questioning face. He licked the spoon clean. It tasted like…well, it tasted sweet, but he couldn't place what it tasted like. Reno pulled the spoon out.

"What the hell have you poisoned me with?"

"That depends. If you like it, I've plagued you with a sweet tooth. If not…then I really haven't done anything." Cloud shot an annoyed but concerned look. "Hey, I haven't done a thing wrong. You're totally poison free, yo."

"Well then what exactly did I just eat?"

"A chocobo milkshake." Cloud's eyes went wide and the redhead laughed. "Don't blow a gasket, chocobo head. It's just lemon ice cream."

"Ice…cream…?"

"Yeah, ice cream. Creamy bits of flavored ice. Haven't you ever had it before?" The blonde shook his head. "Which is why you're a prime candidate to be my test subject."

"A test subject? What?"

"Fine, I can rephrase that. A taste tester, yo. You liked the lemon, right?"

"Yeah, it was good."

"I made a bunch of other flavors too, just try them for me and tell me which ones you like. Simple enough, right?" He gestured at the table, which now had a tray with…23 cups on it.

"So basically you want me to stay here and eat sweets?"

"That sums it up pretty well." Cloud smiled.

"Then let the tasting continue!" He picked up another cup and dove in.

.o.O.o.

Two hours and 16 cups of variously flavored ice cream later, Cloud had relaxed and was actually having fun with Reno and his goofy, sarcastic banter. Said redhead took a spoonful of vanilla and put it into his mouth.

"How in hell did Zack even _get_ a sword that huge?"

"Man, at least he has a sword, yo! But I got an electrified rod."

"Ha, you got a longer one, but Zack has a bigger one." All was silent for a few moments before they both broke out laughing, realizing just how bad that had sounded.

"That sounded waaaaay too dirty, comin' from you!"

"Whattaya mean, coming from me?"

"You got that whole, 'I'm an innocent child' look down pat, yo!"

"Aw, shut up, it isn't my fault that I-" A splitting pain jolted up Cloud's spine and settled into his head. He smashed his head into a pillow and groaned deeply. Reno raised an eyebrow.

"You okay there, kid?" He asked sarcastically, knowing exactly what was wrong with the blonde teen. He himself had experienced the icy sting several times before as well. He was used to it. Cloud on the other hand wasn't, and Reno couldn't help but feel a twinge of concern, although he knew it would only last about five minutes. Cloud shook his head against the soft red pillow vigorously, only making the pain worse.

"Ugh…my braaaaaain…" Reno tried hard to contain a laugh. Cloud had sounded way too close to a zombie when he'd said that. The blonde didn't look up. Reno sighed. He walked to the kitchen, heated some milk, and brought it to Cloud.

"Drink this, yo. It'll go away faster." Now Cloud did look up, sending the redhead a dangerous glare that said, 'I am going to personally beat the ever living shit out of you if I find out you did something to me'." For whatever reason, he did trust Reno. It was just like when he'd met Zack. Somewhere in the back of his subconscious, he knew he was safe with the older man, but his body refused to acknowledge that fact, therefore keeping him stiff and introverted. He took the milk and gulped it down quickly and audibly. Cloud sighed as he felt the pain slowly dissipate, until he felt normal once more.

"What in hell was that?" Reno rubbed the back of his head, feeling the slightest bit guilty for not warning the teen to pace himself.

"Uh, brainfreeze."

"Brainfreeze?"

"Yeah, from the Ice cream, yo." Cloud sighed again before smiling earnestly.

"I knew hanging out with you would make me go braindead."

"Still alive though, ain'tcha?" A small chuckle followed.

"Yeah. Besides, you couldn't hurt me, even with that long rod of yours." All was silent once more.

And then a fit of gut clenching, hysterical laughter resonated through the apartment again.


End file.
